1–358 By the Numbers: What Do Conference Placements Suggest About 2021–22?

A deeper dive into SI’s men’s college basketball rankings examines what the data tells us about perceptions around various leagues.

Author:
Kevin Sweeney and Molly Geary
Publish date:
Nov 2, 2021

On Tuesday, Sports Illustrated dropped its preseason ranking of all 358 teams in men’s college basketball, which can be read here.

Compiled by Kevin Sweeney, the list gives us a chance to do a deeper dive into the numbers and see what the data suggests about narratives around the upcoming season. Which conferences look the strongest based on a weighted average, the number of teams in the top 100 and more measurements? Who do we predict to win each league—and to finish in the basement?

Below, we break down the answers to those questions, drawing from our master ranking.

Conference rankings


Ranking	Conference	Average Placement*
1	Big 12	40.6
2	Big Ten	47.6
3	SEC	57
4	Big East	58.5
5	ACC	60.8
6	Pac-12	66.6
7	American	94.0
8	WCC	117.1
9	Atlantic 10	120.9
10	Missouri Valley	123.0
11	Mountain West	141.7
12	C-USA	151.2
13	MAC	182.3
14	Sun Belt	199.7
15	CAA	205.7
16	Southern	208.1
17	Horizon	217.6
18	WAC	219.2
19	MAAC	230.4
20	Ohio Valley	232.2
21	Big West	233.0
22	Ivy	233.5
23	Atlantic Sun	243.1
24	Big Sky	244.7
25	Summit	246.3
26	America East	246.4
27	Patriot	268.7
28	Big South	269.2
29	NEC	272.9
30	SWAC	304.2
31	MEAC	305.9
32	Southland	310.9

*Determined by finding the average 1–358 position of all members of the conference

Takeaway: The Big 12 surely benefits a bit from having only 10 total teams—compared to 14 for the next two closest conferences, the Big Ten and SEC—but it’s no surprise to see it in the No. 1 spot. The league is perennially strong and has three teams in SI’s top seven alone. For comparison, the ACC doesn’t get to its third team until No. 21. Speaking of the ACC, its placement at fifth doesn’t inspire a ton of confidence that last season’s uncharacteristically mediocre season was a fluke, but a lot will come down to the way teams like Duke, UNC and Virginia rebound.

The top five mid-major conferences are the WCC, Atlantic 10, Missouri Valley, Mountain West and Conference USA, and all but perhaps the C-USA seem to have at least a decent shot at multiple NCAA tournament bids. The Southland’s checking in dead last out of the 32 leagues was a bit unexpected, but after losing five teams—including Stephen F. Austin and Abilene Christian—it has some slack to make up.

PREVIEWS: American | ACC | Big 12 | Big East

Top-25 teams by conference

Big Ten: 6
Big 12: 4
SEC: 4
ACC: 3
Pac-12: 2
AAC: 2
Big East: 2
WCC: 1
A-10: 1

Takeaway: Here is where the Big Ten’s potential depth starts to come through. The conference sent nine teams dancing last March, and if it truly has six top-25-level teams in 2021–22, it could be on its way to achieving that again. The Pac-12 has only two teams here, but the positive is that both are within the top 12. On paper, the Big East doesn’t figure to have another legitimate national title contender after Villanova, but perhaps UConn can make a push into that territory.

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Top-50 teams by conference

Big Ten: 8
SEC: 8
Big 12: 7
ACC: 7
Big East: 5
Pac-12: 4
American: 3
WCC: 2
Mountain West: 2
A-10: 2
Missouri Valley: 1
Conference USA: 1

Takeaway: The SEC’s recent growth in men’s basketball is on display here; Kentucky may be SI’s predicted winner, but it will have plenty of competition. The Pac-12’s having only four of its 12 teams in the top 50 shows we’re still skeptical about the depth of the conference as a whole, despite its magical March performance. The American’s three top-50 teams (Memphis, Houston, Wichita State) figure to be where its upper tier ends. And the A-10 may have only two teams here, but both (St. Bonaventure and Richmond) have NCAA tournament at-large potential.

PREVIEWS: Big Ten | Pac-12 | SEC | Best of Rest

Top-100 teams by conference

Big Ten: 13
SEC: 12
ACC: 12
Pac-12: 10
Big 12: 9
Big East: 9
American: 6
Atlantic 10: 6
WCC: 5
Mountain West: 4
Missouri Valley: 4
Conference USA: 4
MAC: 3
Ohio Valley: 1
MAAC: 1
WAC: 1

Takeaway: Again, the Big Ten’s depth (93% of its teams in the top 100) stands out, but so does the SEC’s having 86% of its teams and the ACC’s having 80% (the Big 12 and Big East, of course, trump the latter two with 90%). The Big East might not be top-heavy in our rankings, but having nine of its 10 teams within the top 100 isn’t nothing. The AAC and A-10 are fairly well-represented, but how about the Missouri Valley and C-USA checking in with four apiece?

Highest and lowest-ranked team per conference:


Conference	Highest Ranked	Lowest Ranked
AMERICA EAST	Stony Brook (123)	Binghamton (343)
AMERICAN	Memphis (6)	Tulane (173)
ATLANTIC SUN	Liberty (110)	Central Arkansas (351)
ATLANTIC 10	St. Bonaventure (23)	Fordham (226)
ACC	Duke (11)	Boston College (154)
BIG 12	Texas (2)	Iowa State (108)
BIG EAST	Villanova (10)	DePaul (122)
BIG SKY	Southern Utah (120)	Idaho (331)
BIG SOUTH	Winthrop (148)	Charleston Southern (344)
BIG TEN	Michigan (5)	Minnesota (144)
BIG WEST	UC Irvine (127)	Cal State Northridge (337)
CAA	James Madison (147)	UNC Wilmington (270)
CONFERENCE USA	UAB (50)	Middle Tennessee (265)
HORIZON	Wright State (102)	IUPUI (338)
IVY LEAGUE	Yale (138)	Cornell (339)
MAAC	Iona (88)	Canisius (302)
MAC	Buffalo (85)	Western Michigan (294)
MEAC	Norfolk State (218)	UMES (358)
MISSOURI VALLEY	Loyola Chicago (32)	Evansville (220)
MOUNTAIN WEST	San Diego State (36)	Air Force (325)
NORTHEAST	Bryant (177)	CCSU (349)
OHIO VALLEY	Belmont (57)	UT Martin (342)
PAC-12	UCLA (4)	Cal (163)
PATRIOT LEAGUE	Colgate (109)	American (335)
SEC	Kentucky (9)	Georgia (152)
SOUTHERN	Chattanooga (115)	Western Carolina (340)
SOUTHLAND	Nicholls State (212)	Houston Baptist (352)
SWAC	Prairie View A&M (208)	Mississippi Valley State (357)
SUMMIT LEAGUE	South Dakota State (114)	Denver (345)
SUN BELT	Louisiana (103)	Little Rock (275)
WAC	New Mexico State (96)	Chicago State (356)
WCC	Gonzaga (1)	Portland (293)